3:00 p.m., Sat., Sept. 19th — Jeff Connor (RMNP Staff) will
talk about the status of Limber Pine in the RMNP. We will
be sending some groups to Limber pine areas to search for fungi that
grow with them. Jeff says that "The limber pine are getting
hit pretty hard by bark beetles. We have been trying to save
some of the trees with a phermonone called 'verbenone'. People surveying
for mushrooms may come across a tree with the pouches and a small
sign."

3:30 p.m., Sat., Sept. 19th — Rob Hallock will give a synopsis
about what fungi we've found, and which ones we didn't.

Point Reyes
Mycoblitz — Learn
more about a mycoblitz — how it is conducted,what happens to
the information gathered from a mycoblitz — here.

Confidentiality Agreement — The Park Service
requires that everyone who participates in the CMS/RMNP Mycoblitz
must sign a confidentiality agreement. Everyone who completes the
registration form will be sent an email with a printable copy of
the agreement attached. Bring this agreement with you to the mycoblitz.
Additional copies will be available at the onsite registration.
Confidentiality
Agreement

CMS/RMNP
Mycoblitz —The second Colorado Mycological Society/Rocky
Mountain National Park Mycoblitz will be held September
18th, 19th, and 20th (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The CMS/RMNP
Mycoblitz is a scientific endeavor to collect, identify,
and begin an inventory of mushrooms that grow in Rocky Mountain
National Park (RMNP). A mycoblitz is
when a group of people get together for a short period of
time and focus on identifying the mushrooms in a given area.

CMS has once again obtained a research permit to host a mycoblitz
in RMNP. Examples of all species that are collected will be
housed both at the Denver Botanical Gardens Herbarium of Fungi
and the RMNP herbarium. This is a great opportunity for you
to participate in the scientific collection of mushrooms, and
a great way to learn new mushrooms. This is a very exciting
event for CMS, and it will not be successful without ample
participation from the club, so I hope you can join us. Top

Mycoblitz Procedure — Procedures
for the 2009 Mycoblitz are a little different from last year's
event. Most notably the mycoblitz will begin on Friday,
September 18th. Also there will be no pre-registration
precedure. Here is how the mycoblitz will work for both Friday,
September 18th, and Saturday, September 19th.
Sunday, Septmeber 20th, will be devoted to mushroom identification
and there will be no forays scheduled that day. When you arrive
in Estes Park, go to the Park Headquarters area and McLaren
Hall (building where the identification took place last year).
See map for
location of McLaren Hall. Onsite registration will begin at 7:30
a.m. All
participants will be issued a name tag and lanyard at this
time. Top

At 8:30 a.m. all participants will meet for a 30-minute safety
and introductory talk from the RMNP. This will immediately
be followed by a short briefing on hunting and collecting
specimens for the mycoblitz. We will then break up into small
groups. Each group will have a group leader
(Leaders will be knowledgeable mushroom hunters from CMS or
other mushroom clubs). Each group will carpool to a predetermined
location and then split up into smaller collecting teams. It
is the responsibility of the individual groups to arrange carpooling.
The group leaders will provide the collectors in their group
with wax paper bags and collection tags for the mushrooms they
find. Carpool drivers will be given a fee
waiver letter that will admit that car and its occupants
into the park. Each team leader will be emailed in advance
of the mycoblitz a research
permit that they must have in their possession while
their team is in the field collecting.

Each collecting team will have a number of important responsibilities.
They will bring back a single collection of each species they
encounter. A collection will consist of a few specimens
of a single genus in a variety of developmental stages, if
possible. A collection tag will be filled out and placed in
a bag with each species. The collection tag will include
which location they went to, the approximate elevation, habitat,
nearby trees, etc. Between 1 and 2 p.m. the groups will meet
back at McLaren Hall for identification of their collections. Dr.
Michael Kuo and Vera
Evenson, Chief Curator for
the Herbarioum of Fungi at the Denver Botanic Gardens will
be the chief identifiers. They will be assisted by a small
team of knowledgeable identifiers from CMS. The identification
process will be similar to how it is done at our annual CMS
mushroom fair: mushrooms will be sorted, identified, documented,
and finally packaged for the herbarium. To finish off the day,
we will have a round-table discussion of the mushrooms we find
- the mycoblitz will also be a learning experience. Top

Lodging — Those
planning to join the mycoblitz for both Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday may wish to stay over in the Estes Park area. There
is wide variety of options for lodging. Information on lodging
near the research station (RV campgrounds, hotels, etc.) can
be found here under "Gateway
Community Associations".

Camping: Participants in the mycoblitz who
wish to have free camping in RMNP must let us know well
ahead of time. Please contact Rob Halleck at 720-480-4452 or
rob.hallock at ucdenver.edu if
you wish to camp on Thursday night, Friday night, or Saturday
night.. RMNP is providing us with a group campsite (sites EC
and EG) in a special volunteers campground that is part of
the Moraine Park Campground (see
map). The volunteers
campground has toilets, a fresh water spigot, and several bear-proof
food caches. Campers are expected to bring their own camping
equipment and adhere to
RMNP
rules for camping. Please do not
bring any pets.

Motels: More information about available motels in the Estes
Park area is available here.
Estes Park is very busy in August so make your reservations early.

RV Campgrounds: More information about available
campgrounds for RVs is available here.
Several of these campgrounds also have
tent camping areas and fees for campsites are slightly more than
the fees for campsites in RMNP. Typically they have bathhouses
which include showers. Top

Food — No
meals will be provided as part of the mycoblitz. Participants
are required to provide their own food for the duration of their
stay. Please plan accordingly. There will be water available
at the research station. Collectors in the field may want to
carry a pack lunch with them. Food at the Park is limited, but
there is a snack bar and small store near the Park just east
of the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. A complete list of Goods
and Services available at the Park can be found at here. Top

Knife — A sturdy knife with a lanyard
or string to attach to your person. It's uncanny how knives
get lost.

Small hand scoop — useful for removing the entire
mushroom base.

Pen — You’ll need to write down information
about each collection you pick. Whistle — Useful for keeping in
touch with other members of the foray group.

Compass or GPS — Carry one and know how to use it.
It is very easy to get lost when you are concentrating
on finding mushrooms and not watching your surroundings.

Rain Gear — Be prepared for inclement weather.

Fluids and food —Be aware that
you will be in the woods for approximately 3 hours looking
for mushrooms. Bring as much food and water as necessary
for and others accompanying you. Top

Recommended:

Two way radio — You
can keep in contact with other groups to call them over to
a special mushroom or let them know what you have collected
so they don’t duplicate the species
you find. You can monitor communication so you don’t
duplicate species being collected.

Mushroom book or key — The more
resources we have on site, the easier we will be able
to ID our mushrooms.

Camera — We would like to have photos
of our mushroom collections in the field. Top

Do not bring:

Pets — Please
do not bring any pets. Pets will not
be allowed on the mycoblitz. Top

Volunteers
Required — Below
is a list of volunteer roles that we require along with the
specific responsibilities for those positions and the requisite
knowledge of mushrooms you should have for those positions. Top

Collector: Individual collectors will go
out with a small group to collect mushrooms from approximately
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Everyone in this small group is expected
to stay together and bring back one good collection of each
species encountered. All collections will need a collection
tag completely filled out. After returning to the research
station, all collectors will place one collection on a single
plate and put them on the table for sorting. All
collectors agree that they will not take any mushrooms outside
the park. Top

Group leader: Leaders
will lead their group to a location to look for mushrooms from
approximately 10 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m.. Group leaders
will be given a map and directions to a specific location,
wax paper bags, and collection tags for their group. They will
be responsible for making sure their group of 5 stays together,
give additional instructions as needed, and coordinate with
the other small group at their location to bring back one good
collection of each species. Group leaders need not be experts
in mushroom identification, but should be seasoned mushroom
hunters. Each group leader will be issued a research
permit for their group
which must be in their posssession while in the field collecting. Top

Sorter:
Help collectors coming back from their trips with putting
specimens on plates and make sure that all necessary information
is on the collection tags. The sorters should
be able to group similar mushrooms together (i.e. polypores,
toothed mushrooms, amanitas, etc) and keep things organized
for the ID team. Sorters will also place identified and recorded
mushrooms on tables for general viewing. Sorters need not be
expert identifiers, but should be able to group similar kinds
of mushrooms together. Top

Identifier: Work
with the Identification team on identification. This is the
only task at the mycoblitz that requires serious knowledge
of mushrooms. Top

Recorder: Enter the
scientific names of mushrooms into a spreadsheet on a laptop.
This job will require a general familiarity in dealing with
Latin names of mushrooms (or in the very least, not an aversion
to the Latin names). Top

Cleanup: Stay an hour on Sunday afternoon
to package mushrooms for the herbarium and clean up the room.
This job requires no knowledge of mushrooms. Top

Onsite Registration Table:
This person will keep track of who is present and make sure
everyone has a nametag. This job requires no knowledge of mushrooms. Top

Photographer: We need
several people to help with making a photographic record of
the mushroom finds. You should have experience in photographing
mushrooms. You should also have basic equipment for photographing
mushrooms including a digital camera, flash, and tripod. This
job requires no knowledge of mushrooms, but you should have
experience taking pictures of mushrooms, plants, or flowers. Top